Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/881840
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2017 This Week 33 This year marks the twelve-year anniversary of Notte Bianca, Malta's biggest arts and culture festival. Becoming more and more streamlined with each passing year, the festival's organ- isers are proud to have witnessed a true evolution of the Island's iteration of the European-wide all-night event. Featuring hun- dreds of artists and performers who quite literally take over the entire capital city for one whole night, the festival invites its visi- tors to explore the capital city far and wide. Arguably, one of the main rea- sons Notte Bianca remains as popular as it ever was, with at- tendance rates in the tens of thou- sands, is that it always embraces and gives space to both the old and the new, the traditional and the cutting-edge. As a matter of fact, Notte Bianca actually takes this concept one step further by delivering projects that manage to fuse these dualities and create artistic entertainments that truly offer different perspectives on established forms. Glancing at the events pro- gramme for this year's Notte Bianca, which takes place on Oc- tober 7, it appears that the trend continues, especially within the music department. This is none more evident than in the project titled Disco Boċċi, organised by the duo from Spots & Stripes. Here the traditional Maltese game of boċċi will be given a modern revamp. Visitors can join in the fun and games at the Bell Valletta St Pauls Boċċi Club, where professional bowlers will play using special glow in the dark balls. The venue itself will be kitted out in disco lights with a soundtrack of the 80s' great- est hits being pumped out on the stereo by DJ Bob and G is for Gustav. Fans of electronic music will be delighted with Notte Blank, a project that will feature a diverse assortment of multi-national artists, including Oded Nir, and The Floating Fluxman as well as local artists Yews, Parallaks, and Melchior Sultana and band. The project is being put together by Blank, a creative dance event agency that puts on events in unique locations around Malta and who invite artists that push musical boundaries. Local art- ists will have the opportunity to collaborate with these inter- national electronica artists and find ways to fuse their talents into a live production at Fort St Elmo's ravishing Pjazza D'Armi. The event's musical and visual performance will be especially designed for the festival. Fur- thermore, around the venue will also be visual and artistic dis- plays built using trash collected by local NGO #ZIBEL. These new structural pieces created out of old discarded waste will be artistic manifestations to raise awareness on the importance of keeping Malta clean through our recycling facilities. Another highlight of the night is sure to be Il-Kbir Għadu DJ, which is being developed by the team behind Kelma Kelma Nota Nota, an event which was praised for its ability to highlight aspects of traditional Maltese culture through a contemporary ap- proach. Visitors gathering in St George's Square can enjoy a spe- cial set of classic Maltese songs remixed by local DJs. Featured in this huge celebration of Maltese songs, music and words, will be a number of surprise guests, in- cluding local actors Ray Calleja and Ron Briffa, as well as many other musicians and singers. Intrata Karnivalata will feature a Carnival theme entrance to the festival featuring DJ Mykill play- ing his trademark tunes with live instrumentalists and presenters. All around Valletta on the night of Notte Bianca, the old will be colliding with the new in col- ourful explosive events that will most definitely offer something for everyone. For more information on all Notte Bianca events, including the ancillary Atmosfera pro- gramme, please visit www.notte- bianca.org.mt WHAT'S ON Remixing the Notte Bianca experience Electronic music at the forefront of this year's edition of Notte Bianca, taking place across the streets of Valletta on October 7 Ray Calleja and Ronald Briffa at ' Il-Kbir Ghadu DJ' – organised by Kelma Kelma Nota Nota for Notte Bianca 2017 National Gallery, London and presented by BFI London Film Festival. A unique animated film where every frame is a painting, 'Loving Vincent' begins after the death of van Gogh, and follows one man's quest to discover how he really died. Featuring actors Douglas Booth, Jerome Flynn, Chris O'Dowd, Oscar- nominee Saoirse Ronan, Aiden Turner, Helen McCrory, Eleanor Tomlinson and John Sessions. The event will also feature a live Q&A session with directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, cast, National Gallery curator and special guests for one night only. Bookings: http://w w w. edencinemas.com.mt/. OCTOBER 10 The Space Dream Film screening of the Chinese film 'The Space Dream' at Spazju Kreattiv at St James Cavalier, Valletta at 19:30. The Chinese government decides to build a space station. Zhang Tiancong becomes an instructor of the new generation astronauts and meanwhile their competitor. After the astronaut election, Zhang's group fails to be chosen due to age issue. Unexpectedly, Wentian 1 is suddenly hit by an unknown object after its launch, the solar panel is damaged and the astronauts are in great danger. Could Zhang's team save the day? Bookings: http://w w w.kreattivita.org/. Simon Critchley